The current trend in computing is away from mainframe systems toward cloud computing. Cloud computing is Internet-based computing, whereby shared resources such as software and other information are provided to a variety of computing devices on-demand via the Internet. It represents a new consumption and delivery model for IT services where resources are available to all network-capable devices, as opposed to older models where resources were stored locally across the devices. Cloud computing typically involves the provision of dynamically scalable and often virtualized resources as a service over the Internet. It is a by-product and consequence of the ease-of-access to remote computing sites provided by the Internet. The move toward cloud computing opens up a new potential for mobile and other networked devices to work in conjunction with each other to provide greater interaction and a much richer experience with respect to third party and a user's own resources.
It is known to pair computing devices together, for example via a direct peer-to-peer connection, where one device then has access to the resources of the second device. With the transfer of resources to the cloud, computing devices are largely freed traditionally defined rolls. As such, there are opportunities pair different computing devices in new ways to enhance the user experience.